Convention Battle

*-This story is incomplete and is on hold for the time being. This story is a collaborative work in progress and will be completed when it is ready, probably not for some time. A summary of events where the story is on hold will be given. A few parts of the story are separate from the collaborative part and will be shown below. If any reader wishes to read the story as a complete work, it is recommended to wait until the page is next significantly updated, and skip the following stories written ahead of this one. You have been warned.

"So, this is the Manor Ascendant?!" Josiah said, circling around as he stared at the beautiful building he was standing in. The Ascendare Headquarters had been moved to an old mansion in North Dakota, and it was expanded so that it could comfortably house a large number of God Tiers in case of an emergency, and more if necessary.

"Yep," said a woman, who walked down the steps from the second floor. She was very pretty, with long brown hair and bright blue eyes, and had a British accent. She wore a jean jacket over a Hero of Life shirt, along with blue denim pants. "So, I assume you are Josiah, the new Hopeful who wants to ascend to become a God Tier?"

"Yes." His green eyes locked onto hers, and he suddenly wondered if the suit he decided to wear was too fancy. He moved a few locks of his blond hair out of his eyes before continuing. "I'm Josiah. I'm guessing you are the Seer of Life?"

"You would be correct. My name is Eva, and I'm also on the Ascendare Council." She finished descending and walked up to him, shaking his hand. "Normally, you'd be met by Juan and Aden, but they have other business to attend to at the moment at their other job."

"Well, it's still nice to meet you. So, if you don't mind my cutting to the chase, when do I get to become a God Tier?" Eva laughed, and Josiah couldn't help but chuckle a bit, though he wasn't entirely sure what was so funny.

"You're an eager one, aren't you?" she replied with an amused smile. "I'm sorry, but we don't just let anyone become a God Tier. The process is difficult, so we have each applicant go through a series of three tests to see if they have the ability to become one. You have to pass two out of the three to earn the chance to play a session and elevate yourself to God Tier status."

"Give me any test, I'll pass it with flying colors!"

"Alright." Eva pulled out an envelope from her pocket and handed it to him. "Here's your assignment."

Josiah opened it up and read the note. "Wait . . . . I'm going undercover with a group in Denver? Why?"

"They are suspected of being the cause of various disturbances across the U.S., as well as an incident in Japan," she explained. "Juan and Aden suspect that they might pose a threat to the Ascendare. Your assignment is to go undercover as a member of the group for four months, and see if they indeed pose any threat to us, then report back."

"But . . . ." he hesitated. "Isn't this dangerous?"

"Of course," Eva answered without hesitation. "It's quite dangerous. But this is part of what God Tiers do, or at least some of us. You need to be able to go undercover for periods of time to determine threats, and sometimes to neutralize. This is a simple probing mission, for a short period of time. If you get captured, you should be able to bluff your way out of it by claiming lack of knowledge or experience in the field."

He didn't reply. The form said the group was called "Sailor Moon Fans". He'd have to do some serious bluffing; he had little knowledge of Sailor Moon. His younger sister loved the series, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

"Of course," she continued, "if you don't feel confident in your abilities to complete this mission, you can choose to forfeit it and take the next mission. However, it will count against your three missions, so keep that in mind before you decide."

He weighed his options. Undercover work seemed easy enough; he loved James Bond, and he always pretended he was a spy when he was younger. Of course, playing pretend verses the real thing are two different things, but really, how difficult could it be? "Alright, I'll take this assignment. How hard could it be?"

Agents Megan Wilcoxson and Garrett Scott are paired and sent to Atlanta, Georgia, where there are reports of people at a local convention who are bending elements. The Sailor Moon Fans send eight people there upon hearing the same reports.

Megan and Garrett arrive at the convention and spread out, looking for possible artifacts, suspecting that it might be related to Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The two find out that there are four artifacts, each representing a past Avatar in the original series: Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, and Kuruk. Before they can collect them, the Sailor Moon Fans make their move, using several artifacts to become more powerful.

The fans who were using the artifacts begin to fight against the SMFs. Garrett and Megan manage to Tesla two of them and take their artifacts, Sailor Venus' Pen and Tuxedo Mask's Rose.

Megan transforms into Sailor Venus to fight against them, while Garrett waits, unsure of whether he wants to transform or not. Megan manages to help out the owners of Kuruk's Polar Bear Skin and Aang's Staff before finding herself cornered.

Garrett decides to transform into Tuxedo Mask and manages to keep the three safe, but the pair are unable to stop the remaining SMFs from taking Roku's Headpiece and Kyoshi's Fans as well as the ones they brought.

"So, you're telling me that the same woman who stopped us in Tokyo and was here investigating the fire we caused was there as well?"

"Yes, Queen Fey. Our operatives suspect she works for some group that collects these objects, though for what purpose, we don't know."

"Hmmmm . . . ." Queen Fey pondered, looking out of her apartment across the city of Denver. "They're definitely from the government; they wouldn't be able to do so much if they weren't. And knowing them, they're probably trying to keep this a secret from the world."

"Do we wish to reveal this agency to the world?"

"No. We will deal with them later. I want to have us fully prepared, and then we'll strike. But before we do, I'll want to deal with this Megan girl. She could be a bigger threat to us. Along with another threat. You said you believe you captured a spy?"

"Yes, your majesty." She waved her hand, and a large, muscular man came into the room carrying a smaller man over his shoulder, bound and gagged. He threw him down to the ground, where the victim landed with a grunt. "He is a new recruit, who called himself James. We don't believe it's his real name, though, and suspect that he is undercover working for someone."

Queen Fey walked over to him and lifted him into a chair with one arm. She removed the cloth from his mouth. "Tell me, who are you? And who are you working for?" The man attempted to spit on her, just she stepped aside before it landed. She then smacked him hard across the head, her eyes flashing red as she did so. "I am not someone you want to annoy, Mr. James. Now tell me. Who. are. you?"

The man, who had blond hair with green eyes, turned away from her, refusing to speak. Queen Fey waved her hand to her assistant, who walked out of the room. "You had your chance to do this the easy way. Now, we'll do this the hard way." The assistant walked back into the room carrying a box. She opened it, revealing a set of gems.

Queen Fey perused the box before picking up a red gem. "I'll give you one last chance. Tell me who you are and who you are working for." With his silence, she raised the gem and pointed it at him. He began screaming and gained a faint red glow. "You will tell me what I want to know. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But you will break down. You will break. You will talk. And when you do, you will experience so much relief."